Welcome to Survival of the Fittest, a RPing board loosely based off of Koshun Takami's Battle Royale, with its own unique plot and spin on the 'deadly game'. We've been around quite a while, and are now in our thirteenth year, so don't worry about us going anywhere any time soon!

If you're a newcomer and interested in joining, then please make sure you check out the rules. You may also want to read the FAQ, introduce yourself and stop by the chat to meet some of our members. If you're still not quite sure where to start, then we have a great New Member's Guide with a lot of useful information about getting going. Don't hesitate to PM a member of staff (they have purple usernames) if you have any questions about SOTF and how to get started!

Samuel left the asylum behind, and crossed a bridge to another part of the island. He came to another cluster of buildings, and for good measure, he took refuge in the one farthest from the bell tower.

And god damn, this one was trashed. Broken windows, beer bottles, and bird shit was everywhere. This wasn’t the ideal place to rest, but he didn’t think he could walk any further.

Samuel lingered in one of the ruined kitchens, sitting on a countertop and taking a swig of a water bottle. All this walking had gotten him thirsty, and quenching it was probably one of the last joys he’d have before he’d die.

The crossbow in his lap. He’d loaded it on the way here, and he’d also parsed the manual it came with. It was a lot of technical jargon he didn’t absorb enough of. It shouldn’t even be that hard to use: the only thing he had to learn was how to load it. Then he could just point and shoot. Guns were probably more complex than this, and Samuel bet there was already someone out there gunning down his classmates.

That was another thing. There were probably people out there playing already, and somebody was already dead. It was sad, but inevitable. He just hoped Penelope was alive somewhere.

[21:51] Zarina: "and then Naft rode Aloha's large purple crab all night long, in a hypothetical future where Aloha is at the age of consent" [21:51] Zarina: the end

Quote:

[19:06] Aloha: Oh jeez one of my ACNL villagers gave me a shirt they were just wearing[19:06] Aloha: warning me that it was "still warm"...[19:09] Aloha: My other ACNL villager just gave me his toilet w h a t[19:09] Skraal: "It's still warm"

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[00:15] Zarina: I think we're pretty lighthearted for a bunch of people writing about mass murder

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Kyoko Sakura-chan - Today at 5:01 PMIn Hawaiian, Aloha means "Hello" and "Goodbye," the latter of which is appropriate considering how fast his V6 cast died

These collars. They had to have a weakness, didn't they? How were they built? How are they controlled? How do they detonate? How are they tracked?

As Darius walked through the area, alone, thinking about how to beat the game, he went back to the messy place. Time had passed and his nose stopped to bleed, letting a blood crust appear over his mouth. Nothing changed much, but when he mindlessly walked to the kitchen, there was a Samuel.

"Sam."

Samuel "Questionmark" Howard. Darius did not care who he was in school, he was just some strange, boring guy with no personality.

But now he was a strange, boring guy with no personality and a crossbow.

Darius was beginning to raise his voice. His scarred face held an angry expression. Understandably.

"Jesus Christ, where the fuck did you get that shit from?"

And he got a chisel. Fuck RNGsus.

"Don't you fucking dare to perceive a fat, green-haired nerd as a threat that needs to be taken out with this bullshit weapon."

Kimiko was sat, back against a wall panting. There was blood on her hand and she was staring at it, trying to come to terms with what had happened. She didn't even know if Cristo was dead. The moment when she'd stabbed him replayed in her head.

Was the wound life-threatening? She didn't know. Kimiko just knew she couldn't leave his blood on her hand.

She opened her bag and searched for a bottle of water. Upon finding one she tore the cap off and poured the contents out on her hand, washing away most of the excess. There was still blood lurking on her hand though, down in the lines of her skin. It gave her skin a strange tint and she hated it.

Kimiko raised the water to her lips as she looked around the room. She knew where she was roughly, either the A or B block of the staff housing. The room, and the whole building really, looked like a whirlwind had torn through it. There was random junk everywhere. Beer bottles, playing cards, books, clothes. She didn't know what had happened exactly but if she was to guess she would have said a party. She rubbed her face with the palms of her hands and went back to thinking about Cristo. She didn't want too but with nothing else to focus on her thoughts were drifting.

The spear was nearly as tall as she was Kimiko realised now that she properly analysed it. It had been difficult to gauge its size in the gloom of the storeroom but in the strange half-light present in the abandoned building she got a better idea. It would be useful. It was a shame Cristo had to get hurt though.

Kimiko rubbed her face again. She didn't want to be a killer, but she wanted to be free. Her left hand worked it's way down to the collar that was around her neck. A symbol of her imprisonment in the life and death game. It was smooth and cold. One unbroken ring.

Taoism taught action without action. It also spoke of freeing yourself of selfishness and desire. But how was she supposed to follow those teachings in the situation she was in?

Wu-Wei was a concept Kimiko had always believed in and followed but she was in a different situation now. Kimiko doubted that Taishang Laojun had considered the situation she was in, but that wasn't a reason to disregard his teachings. She rubbed either side of her philtrum as she thought before eventually giving up.

She picked up the spear, the glass shard was safely in her pocket, and her bag. She had to move.

It didn't take her long to heard a voice. She couldn't quite place the voice but they sounded agitated. The voice came from a doorway to her left, Kimiko slowed her walking but as she moved the spear it caught one of the countless beer bottles and sent it skidding across the floor, clinking the whole way.

"They'll tell you failure is not an option. That is ridiculous. Failure is always an option. Failure is the most readily available option at all times. But it's a choice. You can choose to fail. You can choose to succeed."

He was minding his own business until some green-haired fuckboy barged in and started yelling at him. The guy knew Samuel by name, but he had no idea who the other boy was. His face was recognizable, but his name escaped him. It was D-something. Danny or Darrell or something like that.

Darren was demanding to know where he’d gotten the crossbow and that it wouldn’t be used to hurt him. Clearly the best way to stop someone from killing you was to scream in their face about it. He sighed in response and massaged his temples. He was glad he’d woken up next to Rene and Caleb Nixon instead of this screaming idiot.

Samuel paused to size the boy up. By the looks of it, he’d already been in a fight. Anyone who had already been in a fight was likely dangerous, instigator or not. If he’d been attacked, the mere fact he was still alive spoke volumes. It meant that he’d beaten the ambusher.

Of course, there was the off chance that he was merely lucky. Judging by what he’d said (well, yelled) so far, he could just be a panicky guy who’d barely gotten out of his last altercation alive.

But that was a dangerous assumption to make here.

Samuel narrowed his eyes and rested his hand on the crossbow. “Unless, of course, you want to...”

[21:51] Zarina: "and then Naft rode Aloha's large purple crab all night long, in a hypothetical future where Aloha is at the age of consent" [21:51] Zarina: the end

Quote:

[19:06] Aloha: Oh jeez one of my ACNL villagers gave me a shirt they were just wearing[19:06] Aloha: warning me that it was "still warm"...[19:09] Aloha: My other ACNL villager just gave me his toilet w h a t[19:09] Skraal: "It's still warm"

Quote:

[00:15] Zarina: I think we're pretty lighthearted for a bunch of people writing about mass murder

Quote:

Kyoko Sakura-chan - Today at 5:01 PMIn Hawaiian, Aloha means "Hello" and "Goodbye," the latter of which is appropriate considering how fast his V6 cast died

Sam seemed like the most batshit person around here to him, fucking threatening him with the crossbow. Nope. Which psycho threatens someone to shoot a stick up one's ass? Samuel. That's who. Darius took a step back, not sure what Sam's hand is going to do next with the bow.

"I'm under pressure, you asshole!"

Just nope. That guy was nuts.

And sounds came from elsewhere. Someone else was in this fucking hell. Might force Darius to lose an eye on watching Sam's dubious moves.

Nope. Not even taking a slight chance of getting shot with a fucking crossbow by this retard.

Kimiko saw the boy run away but it wasn't like she could call out for him to stop. At the same time, she didn't even know if she wanted too.

Regardless he was gone now. That still left the other voice that had spoken up while she had been standing frozen. From the sound of the conversation the two had been having one of the two was more violent and jumpy. Kimiko could tell as much from the tone of their voice. The question was whether or not she had been left with that one or the calmer person.

Her grip on the spear tightened. It was a precaution as she still left it at the same angle she had been holding it at. Not outwardly aggressive but if she needed to defend herself she could bring it up quick enough. She still had the glass shard as well but she hoped she wouldn't need to use it again.

Taking a deep breath to steady her breathing Kimiko slowly and purposefully walked to the doorway. When she turned she came face to face with Samuel Howard and his crossbow.

The other boy hurled obscenities at Samuel and left. He only groaned in response, loosening his grip on the crossbow and leaning back on the counter top. At least the guy hadn’t attacked him; Samuel wasn’t sure if he could hold his own in a fight. But hey, he’d managed to scare someone off. It may have been unintentional, but it was still a good skill to have. He was just glad that idiot was gone.

It didn’t take long for someone else to come along.

Unlike the other guy, he knew Kimiko Kao. It was hard to forget a bleach-blonde mute girl, after all. He’d seen her around school, but they’d never talked - well, interacted - much. Nonetheless, she always seemed like a cool person.

But none of that mattered here. What mattered was the five-foot spear she was holding.

Samuel tensed up, one hand going for the crossbow. He paused when he saw Kimiko do the same. There was a chance she wasn’t going to attack him first, and he didn’t want to start anything.

“...Hey Kimiko.” He said, hand hovering over the crossbow. “Uh, listen, I don’t want any trouble, sooo...if you don’t attack me, I won’t attack you. Okay?” Samuel slowly started retracting his hand, keeping his eyes on her. He glanced at the spear again.

[21:51] Zarina: "and then Naft rode Aloha's large purple crab all night long, in a hypothetical future where Aloha is at the age of consent" [21:51] Zarina: the end

Quote:

[19:06] Aloha: Oh jeez one of my ACNL villagers gave me a shirt they were just wearing[19:06] Aloha: warning me that it was "still warm"...[19:09] Aloha: My other ACNL villager just gave me his toilet w h a t[19:09] Skraal: "It's still warm"

Quote:

[00:15] Zarina: I think we're pretty lighthearted for a bunch of people writing about mass murder

Quote:

Kyoko Sakura-chan - Today at 5:01 PMIn Hawaiian, Aloha means "Hello" and "Goodbye," the latter of which is appropriate considering how fast his V6 cast died

The spear point lowered towards the crowd, but it stayed firmly held in Kimiko's hand. It would have been suicidal to drop it. Tactically she was fucked anyway. She couldn't cross the room quick enough to stop Samuel from shooting her even if she wanted too. He had the advantage but the spear offered some comfort and she needed that.

She couldn't guarantee he wasn't lying either.

He could still attack her.

Kimiko decided on a solution that would hopefully keep both sides happy; spinning the spear around in her hand so that the tip faced from Samuel and out into the corridor. She still held it, but there was no implied threat.

The glass shard was in pocket of course. Kimiko could feel it resting against her. A constant reminder of what she had done to Cristo. He was hurt in the storehouse or had moved...or worse. She could still feel him grabbing her and the feeling of the glass breaking his skin.

Samuel was focused on her, Kimiko felt like he was looking through her skin and to her soul. She was uncomfortable being around another person so soon she realised. She needed to shift his focus.

Pointing in the direction the other boy had run Kimiko looked at Samuel with an questioning glance. Something to take her mind off everything.

Kimiko didn’t put the spear down, but at least it wasn’t pointing at him anymore. Samuel could live with that. But as a precaution, he rested his hand on the crossbow. If she was still holding her weapon, he would, too. She pointed down the hallway, and shot him a questioning look. It took Samuel a moment to realize what she was asking.

“...Oh, him? No idea who he was. He just came in, yelled at me, and then left,” He replied, shrugging. “Something about this thing.” he nonchalantly picked up the crossbow, waving it around. He made sure to keep it aimed at the ceiling.

He paused. Samuel wasn’t very sociable back at home, but he could at least keep a conversation going. But he’d never really talked to someone who couldn’t respond - or at least, in a way he could understand. It made things a little awkward, but it was even worse when they were supposed to be killing each other right now.

Samuel sighed and took a sip of his water bottle again. He didn’t know if he should leave or not.

[21:51] Zarina: "and then Naft rode Aloha's large purple crab all night long, in a hypothetical future where Aloha is at the age of consent" [21:51] Zarina: the end

Quote:

[19:06] Aloha: Oh jeez one of my ACNL villagers gave me a shirt they were just wearing[19:06] Aloha: warning me that it was "still warm"...[19:09] Aloha: My other ACNL villager just gave me his toilet w h a t[19:09] Skraal: "It's still warm"

Quote:

[00:15] Zarina: I think we're pretty lighthearted for a bunch of people writing about mass murder

Quote:

Kyoko Sakura-chan - Today at 5:01 PMIn Hawaiian, Aloha means "Hello" and "Goodbye," the latter of which is appropriate considering how fast his V6 cast died

There was a tension in the room that Kimiko didn't see going away any time soon. Her refusal to put the spear down and Samuel picking the crossbow back up was seeing to that. He also didn't manage to provide any answers to her question. Instead he had taken the opportunity to grab the crossbow, it wasn't a very subtle way of getting it back into his hands either. Kimiko kept her eyes on the weapon, making sure it didn't drift in her direction. The last thing she wanted was to get shot with an arrow. No matter where it hit she would have been in trouble.

Slowing nodding in response to Samuel's response Kimiko waited to see if he was going to say anything else. Her main worry was that the potential safety of her location had quickly been shown to be nothing but an illusion. There were too many rooms and too many potential places for people to hide out. For all she knew there could have been five more of their classmates down the hallway in a different room, looking over their equipment and planning alliances. If anyone entered with a gun she would also be in trouble, the dormitories were made up entirely of long corridors and rooms with once entrance and exit.

The combination of those concerns plus the unease she was feeling in her current situation made the decision to leave to find somewhere else to hole up an easy one.

When it didn't look like any further conversation was coming from Samuel, Kimiko simply raised her hand in a half-hearted wave and backed around the corner and up the corridor, eyes trained on the doorway, making sure Samuel didn't emerge.

Once she felt she was safe Kimiko turned and ran to somewhere, anywhere else.

Kimiko left. Samuel returned her wave, and once she was out of sight, let his shoulders relax. He was finally alone again. He took a sip of water and enjoyed his solitude.

But with his luck, someone else was bound to show up, and there was always the off-chance that they were way more aggressive than Kimiko and the other guy. Samuel already decided that he’d spend the night here, and he may as well find a less public spot to hang out. He hopped off the counter, picked up his bag and crossbow, and stepped out into the hallway.

At first he was looking for the cleanest room, but his standards dropped dramatically as he trudged through the hallways. The room he eventually settled in was in no better shape than the others, but at least its door was intact and the bed hadn’t been thrown out the window. He grabbed a chair from one of the other rooms to wedge under the doorknob, and then pushed the bed up against the chair. He didn’t know if it would help, but it wouldn’t hurt to try. If anything, it made him feel safer in here.

The rest of the day passed without incident. Samuel had never been so bored in his life. He’d taken a couple of naps through the afternoon, and spent his waking hours staring at the ceiling. At one point he resorted to reading the survival guide they’d all been provided. It didn’t tell him anything he didn’t know: kill people, trust nobody, danger zones, blah blah blah. It didn’t take a genius to understand all of this from the get go.

As nightfall came, he scrounged up a paltry dinner (half a loaf of bread, a couple of crackers, a food bar, and a water bottle) and finally turned in for the night. His sleep was surprisingly peaceful; if anyone was going to sleep well on the island, it was going to be him.

He’d fallen into such a deep sleep that the announcements had failed to completely woken him up. When the speakers crackled to life, he’d groaned and rolled over, squeezing his eyes shut and begging for sleep. But when he heard names being said, he figured that he’d have to sit up and listen.

The first name he heard properly was Nancy Kyle: an odd bird he’d only heard about in passing, and definitely one he would’ve predicted to snap. The rest of the names were people he faintly or barely knew. He was on the debate team with Alex and knew Harold through a friend, but he wasn’t particularly close to either of them. The only name that stuck out was Kimiko’s: the last person he’d seen yesterday, who’d already killed someone. His blood ran cold as he realized how close he’d gotten to a killer, and possibly getting killed himself.

The announcement ended with a special prize being awarded to Kimiko, and the announcement of the danger zone. Samuel had no idea where the Supply Depot was, but he knew it wasn’t here. He was free to lounge around.

After the announcement, he promptly went back to sleep for a couple more hours, waking up around noon. At that time, Samuel realized that he’d have to move. There was no way the terrorists would let him hole up here forever: they’d find a way to weasel him out. Part of him wanted to stay here and lie down in defeat, but he needed to see Penny before that.

[21:51] Zarina: "and then Naft rode Aloha's large purple crab all night long, in a hypothetical future where Aloha is at the age of consent" [21:51] Zarina: the end

Quote:

[19:06] Aloha: Oh jeez one of my ACNL villagers gave me a shirt they were just wearing[19:06] Aloha: warning me that it was "still warm"...[19:09] Aloha: My other ACNL villager just gave me his toilet w h a t[19:09] Skraal: "It's still warm"

Quote:

[00:15] Zarina: I think we're pretty lighthearted for a bunch of people writing about mass murder

Quote:

Kyoko Sakura-chan - Today at 5:01 PMIn Hawaiian, Aloha means "Hello" and "Goodbye," the latter of which is appropriate considering how fast his V6 cast died